Piluaw
A homage to a squirrel's appearance combined with a tribute to a monkey's lifestyle. Origin Their natural history began when the Awplipi forests developed. Some rats decided to climb up these "trees", where some Chachaw lived for food, and could avoid predation. These rats started to spend their whole lives in the jungles, and became the Piluaw, predatory rats. They are rather diverse, and some members are like wolves, while others can fly. Species *'Piluaw- '''The original member of the group, and as with most precursors to the rest of their groups of Jalupi life, the one that gave it's name. Piluaw are much like early primates and hunt insects, but unlike them, they hunt in the day like most rats, and are also partially terrestrial. Their legs became suitable for climbing up trees and among Awplipi branches. They hunt Tree Chachaws and Jungle Chachaws with speed and endurance. *'Geri Piluaw- These carnivorous Piluaw have learned to attack Jeskaws as a source of prey aside from the occasional Chachaw. They have developed claws to puncture the soft, fleshy skin of Jeskaws, and ambush their prey from the treetops, camouflaged with it's greenish-brown fur. *'Land Piluaw- '''Adapted to solely hunt Jungle Chachaws, these creatures have camouflage that matches with the dirt, and a good endurance, as well as a good deal of speed. However, the endurance is mostly what guarantees Land Piluaws a meal. *'Gliding Piluaw- 'These Piluaw have consacred their lives to the trees, and hunt Tree Chachaws. They evolved membranes of skin in between their legs to glide with, and all fours have become handlike for better manoeuverability in the trees. Finally, their camouflage is reduced to large patches of green to blend in the leaves. *'Ferki Piluaw- 'The Geri Piluaw have developed a subspecies, one that has shifted to more of a wolf's posture. These Piluaw adapted to hunt the Jeskaw, and on occasion other Piluaw, mostly Land Piluaws. These Ferki Piluaw are slightly less intelligent than their cousins, though their senses and raw strength more than make up for it. The Ferki Piluaw are fully terrestrial now, as they have no need to climb the "trees". Most of their packs, each typically made of five to nine members with an alpha pair ruling, hunt only the wilder Jeskaw, but do not shy away from eating the more technologically advanced Jeskaw. *'Laaluaw- 'These rats have achieved a great milestone in Jalupi's natural history: it's the first Jalupi animal ever to be able to fly. It uses it's abilities to good use, too: Using it's sharp "talons" used to firmly grip itself to Awplipi branches and crack even the hardest Cockroach descendant shells, and more rarely, it's mouth, it lifts it's prey up in the air from flight with it's flaps of skin that once served it's kin for gliding that moved up to the arms of these aerial rat descendants, and eats up, except for when hunting a Luipchaw: it stands on the Luipchaw when it surfaces to replenish their air bubbles, cracks a hole in the tough shell, and bites, hopefully severing a vital organ. From there, it can safely eat. *'Graalaw- Evolved from the Laaluaw, these large flying rats prefer places with less high-rising vegetation, for it can spot prey better in those places. It excels at flying, and is able to glide long distances, an ability that allowed it to colonise everywhere there's land on Jalupi. Due to this, their diet shifts according to location: it hunts anything it can find on Chagonius, but those at the Sarguhal Lake prefer Luipchaws, which are now way easier to crack with their improved talons. At the volcanic island, it also hunts anything it can find, but it tends to hunt Jarahaw and Ipaw, despite the risks it brings. On the other islands of Jalupi, the Graalaw populations there are like seabirds, diving into the waters to catch fish for food, as on those islands, no other lifeforms other than plants exist. The Jesk Piluaw A subspecies of Geri Piluaw made peace with the Jeskaw. The only difference from the other Geri Piluaw is their brain, which has expanded. They are as smart as a neanderthal man, and have learned to throw stones. They even worship the Jeskaw for being so smart, but at a low degree, like choosing to be less advanced than the Jeskaw. They have trained Laaluaws to scout areas while sailing Luathatl, Jalupi's only ocean, aboard Boat Awchpis. While they can still only move in the trees and on the branch portions of Boat Awchpis, Jeskaw can carry them with their fin-hands where they can't usually go, such as on genetically bred members of the Lishpi family. Category:Neo-Terra Category:Jalupi Category:Rodent Category:Nature Category:Simian Category:Avian Category:Arboreal